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Common Property Wall Damage and Repair Responsibility In California

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  • 08-05-2007, 10:46 AM
    Rock Man
    Common Property Wall Damage and Repair Responsibility In California
    A common wall / fence exists between my house and my neighbors. The wall was built before my house was constructed. Neither my neighbor or myself were property owners here when constructed. Best guess is the wall is 25 years old. The wood w/ stucco wall has been bowing slightly (4-6" in the center of a 100 ft wall) for years. We have noticed it, but the wall seemed tost be resonably structurally sound Due to a concrete restoral project in my backyard, I just had two trees removed along the fence line and it is pretty evident that the lean is indeed due to roots from the removed trees. Prior to the tree removal, my neighbor has never noted or complained about the leaning, but did wake up and notice when I removed the trees.

    Since we are doing some backyard remodelling, we actually tried to be good neighbors and say that we would remove the wall and replace with high quality vinyl fencing (matches the fencing on the rest of our property and asthetically much nicer than the generic stucco wall) but she feels that it would not look good with her back yard.

    Now she is suggesting I replace the wall (108 ft, large $$$ cost). In addition, there is a wall extension that corners back onto her property with a gate. She is assuming I will replace that as well to match the new wall, but it is not damaged / in perfect shape. I believe that the undamaged section should not be demoed and the replacement wall joined at the corner where the extension continues back onto her property.

    So my questions are:

    1. Is the wall replacement my responsibility or a 50 / 50 shared if the trees on my side were the source of the bowing of the wall? Is there specific California civil code that dictates this in the above scenario (i.e. not just aging / deterioration of the wall).

    2. If it is my responsibility, who dictates type of wall replacement and contractor? She is assuming she can dictate type of wall and contractor. My fear is that I will get totally hosed by the contractor she selects (likely). I believe we should get competitive bids and the lowest cost bid for equivalent replacement construction should be selected. Is there legal guidance here?

    Thanks...
  • 08-07-2007, 06:28 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Common Property Wall Damage and Repair Responsibility In California
    If I were you I would argue this as maintenance of a jointly owned wall, with each neighbor responsible for 50% of the cost. If I were your neighbor I would argue that it was encroachment by your tree roots which caused the damage, and that you are thus responsible for the full cost (your 50%, plus the damage to my 50% caused by the encroaching tree roots).

    I would personally start by making sure that I knew where the property line lies, so as to be sure that this is a shared wall. I would not agree to use a contractor chosen by the neighbor, but would insist upon a mutually acceptable contractor.
    Quote:

    Quoting California Civil Code § 841.
    Coterminous owners are mutually bound equally to maintain:

    1. The boundaries and monuments between them;

    2. The fences between them, unless one of them chooses to let his land lie without fencing; in which case, if he afterwards incloses it, he must refund to the other a just proportion of the value, at that time, of any division fence made by the latter.

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